Chapter 24: Yun Yantian.
Yao Jun did not want to waste time, he had yet to tell his parents what had happened to him. He did not want them to worry, so unless it was absolutely necessary, he was not planning on telling them that he had been sucked in by a Spatial Node.
Yao Jun also felt slightly conflicted. He wanted to return home fast, returning to his parents. But at the same time, he suddenly found himself transported to a completely unfamiliar continent. It would be a lie if he said that he was not tempted to take his time and explore this new land.
In the end, Yao Jun forced himself to focus on getting home. Returning to his parents should be his first priority. At the same time, he also comforted himself. If he managed to find a way back to the Grand Quan continent, it would be reasonable to think that there was also a way to return to this Guanyu continent.
Yao Jun left Vast Plains City in the early morning, only grabbing a quick breakfast at the inn where he was staying. He followed the road for a little while, but after spending around an hour on the road, he stepped off the road and quickly traveled to the side, away from the road.
Yao Jun quickly found a place that was far enough away from the road, completely out of sight, before calling out Little Gray. If he tried to walk through the two provinces that separated him from the Xian Province, there was no telling how much time he would spend on the road.
Riding Little Gray would be a slight risk, but Yao Jun was not too worried about being spotted. Little Gray could fly high enough to allow him to escape most human eyes, and even if someone saw him, they would only think that it was a bird. Humans that could fly as high as a Mist Eagle were very few in number, so Yao Jun was also not worried about meeting anyone else.
Riding on Little Gray, flying high above the world was an exhilarating feeling. Yao Jun could see everything beneath him, the cities and towns, the forests, lakes that shimmered like crystals, even the clouds were beneath him. While Yao Jun was flying, he forgot about everything else. All that mattered was the vast landscape beneath him, and the endless blue skies around him.
This was the first time Yao Jun had ever felt this free and unrestrained. Up in the skies, he felt like he was a king overlooking the entire world, he could almost get drunk on this feeling alone. Little Gray was also ecstatic as it was flying. It was after all a Mist Eagle, a Demonic beast that roamed the skies.
While they were in the Cloud Wilderness, it was forced to either stay close to the ground or even on the ground. After they got transported to ZhiZhu Plains, it was also forced to fly close to the grounds, as there was no telling what could be lurking in the skies. But here, it could fly as high as its heart desired, touching the dome of heaven.
Yao Jun had gathered a lot of information, so he knew that the skies of Guanyu continent were nearly devoid of Demonic beasts. Even the forests and wildernesses were almost devoid of Demonic beasts. The reason behind this was that most of the Demonic beasts gathered in the locations where the Demon Race resided.
People from the Demon Race had a connection with Demonic beasts, often stemming from them sharing a common ancestor. The only difference was that while the ancestors of the Demonic beasts were two Demonic beasts, the ancestors of the Demon Race were a human and a Demonic beast. When a Demonic beast cultivated to a high enough level, it could expend a bit of power to take on a human form, allowing it to integrate into society. A child born between such a Demonic beast and a human would end up as a person from the Demon Race.
Yao Jun rode Little Gray for several days, bypassing both provinces that separated him from the Xian Province, before finally landing a few kilometers away from the road and getting off of Little Gray. Little Gray was a Mist Eagle, continuous flying was no problem for it. It could even keep flying for several more days straight, bringing Yao Jun directly to Great Xian City.
The reason Yao Jun made Little Gray land and then returned him to the Garden of Eden, was because the Xian Province was the largest province on the Guanyu continent. The Xian Province was a hot spot for cultivators and mortals alike, there was no telling who was hiding out here. If he accidentally got spotted by a strong cultivator, it would be far too late for regrets, so Yao Jun decided to walk the rest of the way.
Yao Jun gently rubbed Little Gray's head for a bit, feeding him some of the meat that he had stored away. Yao Jun knew that Little Gray was capable of flying long distances without stopping, but that did not know that he enjoyed doing it. Before he sent Little Gray back to the Garden of Eden, he made him hold on to a little bit of meat and gave him explicit orders to give it to Little Thunder.
Ever since they arrived on Guanyu continent, Little Thunder was forced to stay inside the Garden of Eden, while Little Gray got to spend large amounts of time in the outside world. The Garden of Eden could be considered rather large, but it was after all only so big. Little Thunder would probably quickly get tired of spending so much time inside it, so giving him some meat to keep him calm would be for the best.
Yao Jun did some stretches, loosening up his body before he started the trek towards Great Xian City. After spending a bit of time walking, Yao Jun reached the road he had seen from the sky. Yao Jun knew that this was the main road, following this road would take one through all the major cities in the Xian Province. Yao Jun could just follow this road, and sooner or later he would end up reaching Great Xian City.
Yao Jun walked with a brisk pace, stopping every few hours to get a bit of rest. Thanks to him meditating and cultivating while he was resting, he did not need to worry about getting tired. Cultivating would make his body absorb the surrounding Raw Qi, slowly improving his strength and refreshing his body. Like this, Yao Jun could keep a constant pace, even walking during the night.
Yao Jun had only been walking for three days when he spotted a group of people fighting ahead of him. Yao Jun had already heard that the road to the Xian Province had a lot of bandits, so he was rather surprised that it took him an entire three days to find any bandits.
What Yao Jun didn't know was that while the road to the Xian Province had a lot of bandits, the Xian Province itself did not have that many bandits, only a few groups that were spread out across the entire province.
Yao Jun looked at the group that was fighting, weighing his options. On one hand, he was in need of money, so fighting the bandits and robbing them would solve that issue. From what he could see, none of the bandits had reached the 1st grade, so they were no threat to him.
The only worry he had was the sheer amount of bandits. There were 13 bandits from what he could see, 13 bandits besieging one youth clad in a dark purple robe. The youth had only reached the same cultivation level as Yao Jun, but he seemed very proficient at fighting, so he managed to keep the bandits at bay.
If he decided to join the fray, even if he teamed up with the youth, it was uncertain if they could kill all the bandits without taking some injuries. Yao Jun slowed his pace as he was weighing his options, uncertain whether he should join in.
While he was making up his mind, he suddenly heard a loud laugh. Startled, Yao Jun looked ahead to see that the youth clad in purple was running towards Yao Jun at full speed, bandits right behind him.
«Ahahaha! Sorry brother, but I could really use some help here!»
The youth ran all the way to Yao Jun's side before stopping and catching his breath. The youth had a chiseled face, looking very manly and rugged. He had chestnut brown hair that was much shorter than Yao Jun's, only reaching down to his ears. His eyes were a bright green and his face carried a simple and honest, yet bright grin.
«Names Yun Yantian. I'll treat you to some good drinks once this is over.»
The youth, Yun Yantian spoke with a grin as he laughed and readied his sword, a sharp air radiating from his entire body. Yao Jun was stunned as he looked at the youth. He could do that? Just drag the trouble to him? He resisted the urge to curse at the youth as he pulled out his own sword and faced the bandits. Lightning crackled around Yao Jun's body, and his black pupils lit up with a dim gray light.